Tug of War Cub
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: Po gets a chance to train with Max and in turn...it caused a bitter jealousy towards Tigress and a rivalry ensues. How will this affect Max? Stay tuned and see!
1. Training Session

Now this was out of my head before the new year; what would happen if Po and Tigress had an argument...over Max? About who's the best trainer and who spends time with him more. Sounds kinda unusual...but this was inspired by a role-playing message between me and The Master of Stories. So...I hope you guys like!

* * *

Tug of Cub War

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Training Session

One afternoon in the Jade Palace, the masters were busy doing their usual training and Max was sitting there with Samurai and Phoenix, watching from the sidelines and they could tell that they were extremely extraordinary with their moves and Samurai said, "Man...I hope I can master panda style really well."

Phoenix laughed in response to that and he said, "I don't think your stamina would support it."

Samurai scoffed at Phoenix and said, "Shows what you know."

While the two of them were muttering amongst themselves, Max was just watching Po training with Tigress and wished that he'd rather train with Po than Tigress more because he looks up to the panda a lot more. He couldn't help but feel so inspired by him and wishes he can be more like him...except for the weight thing.

As Po and Tigress were sparring, Tigress couldn't help but notice that Max was admiring Po and that was something she didn't take very well because of the fact that she's twice as better than Po is and she has no problem giving out 20 years of kung-fu experience to him and her intensity ignited as she fought Po more, but in the end...Po comes out with the other hand and used his ginormous belly to bounce her off.

Max cheered for Po very loudly and he exclaimed, "Way to bring her down, Po! YES!"

All of the masters turned around to see Max cheering for Po and at some point, Max slowly stopped when he realized that they were staring at him. Tigress was also included, but she grew a little bit resentful that he was cheering for Po over her and she stood up glaring at him.

"I'm glad to see you're taking this to your enjoyment." Shifu stated.

Max chuckled nervously as he looked at Shifu and said, "Sorry about that."

"Oh, it wasn't your fault, Max. Not at all." Viper said, smiling.

Po was a little flattered to receive a cheer from Max and he comes up to him and said, "It's actually cool that you're cheering for the Dragon Warrior."

Both of them high-fived and fist-bumped each other to show that they're buddies and Max said, "You're my favorite warrior."

"Aw, come on..." Po said, humbly.

"No, it's true. You're like...the best warrior in ever!" Max exclaimed.

Tigress was fully disturbed by how much compliments Max gave to Po and it made her sick to her stomach when she heard Max say that Po's the best warrior in ever and she really wanted to tackle him if she wanted to, but didn't bother making a move because that would not fly with Shifu...so she kept it to herself until the rest of them were dismissed. But the jealousy was looming.

"I fully appreciate your admiration for the Dragon Warrior, Max...but try to keep it to a minimum. Understood?" asked Shifu.

"Yes, Master Shifu." Max replied.

Shifu nodded his head at that and he turned to the rest of the students and said, "That's enough for today. You're dismissed."

* * *

Uh-oh...Tigress is getting mad over what Max just said. That's just the beginning...so stick around!


	2. Jealous Master

And there's a huge amount of jealousy towards Max and you can see why she's always so spiteful towards her...especially after hearing what he said about Po.

* * *

Chapter 2: Jealous Master

Soon after the training session, Tigress couldn't help but have Max on her mind and all the things he said to Po right in front of her and the comment that Po's the best warrior in ever really got her on edge and she just wanted nothing more than to just show him who's the best warrior around because she's been at this for 20 years and not one single ounce of praise has been forwarded to her and since Po became the Dragon Warrior and received more praise, it really got her even more jealous than ever. It was bad enough for her that Shifu and most of the valley of Peace praised him, but to have Max say that in front of her really sickened her to no end.

"That little runt...how dare he say that Po's the best warrior. I'm as twice as better than Po is." Tigress growled.

Her resentment towards Max went from hidden to much more deeper than that and she's always had much hatred towards the cub because of the attention he receives from most of the masters from the palace and that he's never let the impact of what happened to him in the past harden his heart and from those 3 years she met him, everything turned into a competition between the two tigers because she felt like Max could be a threat.

She felt like she had no other choice but to get Max back and that means threatening his friendship with Po and she went back to the training hall to demolish almost everything...but she sees Samurai there and she said, "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I have the day off." Samurai replied.

"I see." Tigress said, folding her arms.

Samurai could tell that something was bugging her and the angry look in her eyes gave it away and he asked, "Uh...you didn't quite exactly hear what Max said about Po, did you?"

"I heard...everything Max said." Tigress said, gritting her teeth.

"Okay then. I mean...there's really nothing against you at all between you and Max. He looks up to all of you guys...all the same." Samurai said.

"Then, why did he say that he looks up to Po?" asked Tigress.

"Doesn't any kid in the valley?" asked Samurai.

"Well...yes. But I'm twice as better than Po is and for Max to say that in front of me just gives me a slap in the face and I'm not gonna have that." Tigress said, getting angrier by the minute.

That completely sent off a red flag on Samurai's head and he was a little worried for Max and he asked, "You're not gonna...hurt him or anything, are ya?"

That was the intent she was gonna instill, but instead...she came up with a much better solution for this and said, "No, I'm not gonna hurt him. That'd be absurd."

Still, Samurai wasn't really convinced at Tigress' answer because he could tell that revenge was in order, but he didn't want Tigress to know that he's not fully confident in her answer and he said, "All right then. Guess I'll head back home. I know Phoenix and Max definitely want some lunch and Phoenix would annoy me to no end if that was the case."

As Samurai walked out of the training hall, Tigress was ready to take her anger out on the entire training hall and imagined every single item there was surrounded by Max and with that, she went and punched multiple holes on the walls, swung the dummy around and did everything to get her anger and fury out on the training hall.

Meanwhile, Samurai heard everything from standing there and he has a huge fear of what's gonna happen the next time Max and Tigress cross paths again and he was totally zoned out that he didn't hear Max calling him.

"Sam? Sam?" Max asked.

Once Samurai turned around and saw Max, he said, "Hey. Sorry about that."

"What's Tigress mad about this time?" asked Max.

Samurai wanted to say it was Max, but just thought it was better to leave it alone and he said, "She's just blowing off some steam."

With that, all three of them left the Training Hall, but not before Samurai looks back and thinks, 'I have a feeling that there's something involving Max.'

* * *

I kinda wanted Samurai to be involved in this story and show his concerned side as a big brother. Stay tuned for more!


	3. Unknown Fear

Now we focus on the brothers just a little bit.

* * *

Chapter 3: Unknown Fear

When the three of them went back to the house, they returned to hear babies crying out loud and that was a sign that those newborn panda cubs are at it and Sage walked downstairs very angrily over the crying and he turned to Samurai, Max and Phoenix and asked, "Where have you guys been?! These little runts are driving me freaking crazy with their crying! I can't even sleep all morning without these creeps waking me up!"

"What are you complaining for? That's not their fault they woke you up." Phoenix said.

"On top of that, I have to babysit them all! If someone told me that I have to raise some kids like that, I would've kicked them straight in the guts!" Sage shouted.

With that, Max thought it was best to just head upstairs to his room to escape that conversation for a while and once Max was gone, Samurai stated, "Sadly...your lifelong dream of mating random girls with looks or whatever...babies are an end result. You see, you're creating life and that's all the stuff you have to deal with."

Sage could not believe that that's the reason behind this and he was shocked and disturbed to know the information behind it and he said, "So...let me get this straight; my reason for mating every girl...I'm making babies with them?"

"Yep." Phoenix and Samurai replied.

But of course...Sage still didn't really believe it's possible and just said, "I'd rather just bang them and move on to the next one. I ain't really got to deal with a bunch of screaming brats. I'd leave them for those girls."

Sage walks out and both pandas looked completely perplexed about what Sage had just said and Phoenix said, "You know...I wouldn't be surprised if any girl he mates...they'll leave him with the multiple kids."

"Yeah. Then, he'd learn the hard way." Samurai replied.

Later that day, Samurai was laying down on his bed, enjoying his day off from work and he definitely needed that particular time off to spend with his family and just kick back. Yet for some reason...he couldn't stop thinking about Tigress' growing resentment for Max after what happened at the training hall that day and from the look of all things, it sounded like she might have something planned to get him back.

He's not sure what, but he fears that her jealousy will turn into full-on rage to compete against Po to see who looks up to who or who spends time with who. He lets out a deep sigh and just hoped that it might blow over soon, but knowing Tigress...she's not gonna get over something like that so quickly.

"Hey, Sam?"

Samurai looks up and sees Phoenix standing there and said, "Hey, Nix."

"You seemed a little quiet during lunch. Is something bothering you?" asked Phoenix, with deep concern.

"I'm fine. I'm just worried, that's all." Samurai replied.

"About what?" asked Phoenix.

Samurai takes a deep sigh and he doesn't know if he can explain this to Phoenix, but it'd be selfish of him not to and as Phoenix sat down on the floor closer to his bed, Samurai replied, "I'm worried about Max."

That spelled deep worry for Phoenix and he figured it must be something serious and asked, "Max?"

"Yeah. You remember when Max said that Po is the best warrior in ever? I noticed Tigress didn't like it when he said that in front of her." Samurai answered.

As Phoenix keeps listening in, Samurai continued to explain everything about this and once it all came out, Phoenix was at a loss for words and he grew a little fearful about this and they both know of Tigress' resentment and jealousy towards the cub, but never in this extent before. Samurai sighed heavily at this and said, "How am I gonna let Tigress know that Max would never hurt anyone?"

"Did you explain this to Arizona?" asked Phoenix.

"That's the huge problem...how am I gonna explain that to him? Zona is super-protective of Max like the rest of us." Samurai added.

Phoenix had no idea on what to say next, but he knows that they'll have to look out for him no matter what and he said, "Sam...let's just hope that Tigress was bluffing and maybe she'll forget about it. Besides, you can't really harm a young cub. He's really not that threatening."

"You're right. He's a sweet, cute little guy." Samurai agreed.

Both brothers gave each other a bro-hug as Phoenix got up and he said, "By the way, Sam...your feet stinks."

Samurai laughed sarcastically and pinned Phoenix down on the ground and placed his foot on his face to let Phoenix smell it. Once Phoenix struggled to let go, he couldn't endure the smell of Samurai's feet and said, "Dude, it reeks! Literally!"

"That's what you get for saying my feet stinks!" Samurai shouted.

Both brothers were laughing with each other and kept wrestling around each other, showing that despite getting older, they're still capable of goofing around like normal brothers do.

* * *

Samurai does have a protective side towards Max. Stay tuned to see what else happens!


	4. Mini-Training Session

And here's where Tigress' jealousy over Max's skills deepens even further.

* * *

Chapter 4: Mini-Training Day

By the next day, Arizona and Samurai were taking Max along the Jade Palace and they were hoping to get some training done for Max, but on a more limited scale and as they got to the steps, they see Master Shifu standing there and they said, "Morning, Master Shifu."

"Morning, gentlemen." Shifu said, bowing to them.

"You sure you can't stay, Sam?" asked Max.

Samurai chuckled softly and replied, "Wish I could, Maxie...but I have to go back to work. Luckily, Mr. Ping's letting me have a half-afternoon off on my lunch break. Maybe I can come then."

"Yes!" Max said, excitedly.

With that, Samurai and Max gave each other a fist-bump hug before they left and as Arizona and Max walked indoors, Max waved 'bye' to Sam and Sam waved back at him as he walked down the steps...although he can't help but worry for the cub because with Tigress around, who knows what will happen between these two.

'I hope Tigress isn't gonna do anything to cause harm to Max.' Samurai thought.

Meanwhile, the masters made their way to the Training Hall and as they went inside, Arizona and Monkey were picked as trainers for the day and they were assigned to train Max and then on the following days, Po will take his duty to not only train Max, but to keep an eye on him. While Arizona and Monkey got ready, Tigress was watching from the sidelines and she was still reeling from what Max said about Po yesterday.

"All right, Max. Just follow what me and Arizona do." Monkey said, taking a bo staff.

Arizona gives Max the bo staff so he can keep up with what the training session is for and soon enough, they started sparring with the usage of the stick and both of them clashed together while breaking out some good moves and when Max was watching, he started to get more awestruck by the minute and hopes that he can do it ten times as better.

After only 6 minutes, it was then Max's turn to come in and Monkey started things off slow so Max will know what to do. Monkey gave Max a few pointers in sparring with a stick and as Max kept learning, he was ready to test it out, but most of them ended with accidently slipping the sticks off his hand, getting the moves wrong or accidentally hitting Monkey in the head.

Tigress saw these mishaps and figured that Max will never measure up to his training and just lets out a big smirk...until Max quickly blocks the staff where Monkey starts hitting and before long, Max got the hang of it like a pro as he started sparring with Monkey with a bo staff and with Arizona in the midst of it, Max completely owns the match.

As both Monkey and Arizona continued on sparring with the staff, Max was able to hold his own with his wolf brother and Master Monkey and he was not holding back as he did some spins, flips and even a lot of Tiger Style movements and made it totally 'Maximized' and took them down in a matter of seconds.

When it was all over, every master in this room was deeply shocked and amazed by how much skill this kid is holding and most of them were in disbelief that a nine year old white tiger cub could actually pull it off like that.

"How was it?" asked Max.

Monkey's jaw was dropped and Arizona was completely blown away by every move he does and all Monkey could do was stutter and stammer because it made him speechless and Arizona said, "You were awesome, Max."

Nobody was even more shocked...and appalled more than Tigress because she never expected a cub to do the impossible or complicated moves and not even she can pull that off and she does kung-fu easily well. Po felt amazed for Max and he said, "I think this kid's gonna dominate kung-fu in the future."

Po comes in and gives out his congratulations to Max and they high-fived each other and said, "It's gonna be awesome being your trainer all week!"

"I know! How cool is that?!" Max shouted.

Tigress couldn't take anymore of this and she just left the Training Hall in a huff and all the while, envy transformed into pure black envy and said, "We'll see who's the better warrior. Just you wait."

* * *

You may be wondering why Tigress is always so mean and spiteful towards Max. All I can tell you is that she sees him as a threat. That's all. Stick around!


	5. Competition Bound

A little insanity threat occurs as Tigress begins to take out her competitive envy out on Max while she 'supposedly' offers to train him, knowing full intent that Po is the trainer of Max.

* * *

Chapter 5: Competition Bound

As the day goes on, Max has started feeling really excited to train with Po and he hopes to learn a few things from him and maybe hang out with him after that and as he went inside the training hall, he saw Tigress standing in front of him and he didn't expect her to stand there and he said, "Hey, Tigress."

"Maximus." Tigress said, folding her arms.

"So...can I help you?" asked Max, a little confused.

"I'm here to train you." Tigress replied.

That kinda shocked Max to hear that because he didn't remember having Tigress as a trainer for him and he said, "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me, Max. You need someone to train you; someone who has more agility, stronger and not to mention...remotely disciplined." Tigress added.

"Uh...no I don't. Shifu told me that Po's gonna train me all week." Max replied.

Of course Tigress knew that Po was chosen to train with Max all week and she didn't want Max to know that she's totally miffed about what he said about Po being the best trainer, but she wants him to eat his own words and use it against him and she said, "I'm not gonna say Shifu's wrong. But...I'm twice as better as the Dragon Warrior. Now are you gonna train with me or aren't you?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'll wait for Po." Max answered.

Although Max can't see it in her face, she's full of intensity after what Max just said and she said, "Have it your way."

As Max walked past her, Tigress was seething on the outside and just wanted to punch him straight in the face after that decision and calmly walked off, but once she saw Po walk past her...she gave him a cold and dangerous stare, warning him that there's gonna be a personal war brewing.

"Uh...hey, Tigress. Did I forget to show up?" asked Po.

"No, Po...not this time." Tigress said, through clenched teeth.

Po was a little uneasy on why Tigress is looking at him that way, but got out of the way just in case she loses it and Tigress kept an eye on both Po and Max as soon as they meet up and it's bad enough for her to have Max be a young pro, but to have Po be Max's trainer for a week even after all the words he said about the Dragon Warrior...she can no longer deal with this and she's willing to get hard on Max.

"So...you ready, buddy?" asked Po.

"Definitely ready!" Max exclaimed.

Po smiled at this and what Max said will surprise Po and also fuel Tigress' jealousy into something a lot more worse.

"I'm willing to learn something awesome from you. I'm so glad I chose you as a trainer over Tigress. She told me that I'd train with her, but I'm still loyal to you. In all honesty, you're a lot cooler and I'd choose you over Tigress any day because you're the bestest warrior ever." Max said.

That was it. Tigress left the room, but her mind completely snapped and in response, she kicked the doors open, which surprised both Po and Max and clearly, Tigress' focus was on Max instead of Po and she said, "We'll see who's the better trainer! Come tomorrow...you will eat your words!"

Max was a little leery about what she meant by that and when she left, it left Max a little afraid and he asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. Don't worry about Tigress. She'll cool off and maybe she'll get over it tomorrow." Po stated.

But as far as they're concerned...that will be proven impossible and Max said, "I hope you're right."

* * *

In case you just saw it...Tigress is planning to compete against Po to see who's gonna be a better trainer and Max is caught right in the middle of it...and Max hates being in the middle of an argument. If someone brings Max's name up and wants to force him to choose between one or the other, he doesn't cope with it well. You'll see later on.


	6. Table Turning

We see Max heading to the training hall to do another training session with Po...but something in this chapter may have a slight twist; a jealous tiger master confronting him.

* * *

Chapter 6: Table Turning

The next day, Max returns to the Jade Palace alongside Phoenix and Arizona to do some more training and Phoenix was a little reluctant to do some training today while Max was excited to do more training with Po...but also nervous because of what Tigress said before and while that was still on his mind, he just wanted to leave that behind and just focus on hanging with Po for a while.

"So...how did it go with Po yesterday?" asked Arizona.

"It was great. Po taught me how to do Panda Style and I made my own little twist on it and he taught me all the moves he used to defeat Tai Lung. It was so cool." Max replied.

Arizona was happy to hear that and he knows that Max feels deeply entrusted with Po around and he said, "Looks like you got a good trainer."

"I do." Max said.

"I don't see why I have to train too." Phoenix stated.

Arizona chuckled softly and he said to Phoenix, "You need the exercise. Also...it's a part of your new year's resolution. You gotta stick with it."

Phoenix rolled his eyes and groaned softly at this and he said, "I thought it was just a one and done thing."

"Hey, Shifu said that you needed some exercise and that's precisely what he's gonna have to do for you today." Arizona added.

"Easy for you to say. You barely break a sweat." Phoenix said.

A couple of minutes pass by and Max was already on his way to the Training Hall to wait for Po there, but as soon as he steps inside the Training Hall...

"Max!"

Max suddenly looks up and sees a very fierce Tigress standing there and he had no idea what's going on, but he knows that something is up.

"You're late." Tigress said, walking up to him.

"Where's Po?" asked Max.

Tigress' only response was tripping him by the legs and putting her foot on his stomach and said, "Po will no longer train with you all week. I'm your trainer now."

"What?!" Max shrieked.

"That's right." Tigress said, angrily.

'Something tells me that I'm being set up.' Max thought.

* * *

And Max may be right. See how this goes on next!


	7. Defenseless

And Tigress sets Max up into training him...but really wanting him to feel the same pain Tigress felt whenever Max is around. Taking all of those bitter memories from her time at the orphanage and she's ready to unleash her fury out on him.

* * *

Chapter 7: Defenseless

Tigress wanted to show zero mercy for Max and she had the desire to train him hard...but her actual plan on doing so was far more personal than anything and Max had no idea what he was gonna be in for, but he knows that he wants to train with Po and then have Tigress to change it for some reason didn't sit well with the tiger cub. But he has a feeling that Po might be a little late and hopes that he can come by and train with him and Tigress will leave...so he'll take it as a warm-up.

"Are you ready, cub?" Tigress growled.

Max took a few minutes to get himself all warmed up and limbered himself up to get all pumped for training despite not really wanting to train with her and Max said, "Sure. Can we make it quick?"

"What's the sudden rush?" asked Tigress.

"I'm only here for Po." Max answered.

That didn't sound like a good enough answer for her and she just went forward and fought him down hard, but Max managed to dodge and block every move she makes and did a few flips and goes on his basic stances and while Tigress was busy taking out her jealous rage on Max, he was also busy trying to get away from her before things take a turn for the worse.

"I'm your trainer! I'm twice as better as Po is!" Tigress shouted.

"What's it gonna take for you to leave me alone?" asked Max.

"Train with me instead of that panda!" Tigress replied.

The intimidation level was rising higher than ever and Max backed away from her ever so slightly and said, "I'd rather not."

"What's the matter?! Too weak to attack the Tiger Master?" asked Tigress.

Max rolled his eyes in response to that and said, "No. I'm not too weak. I just don't wanna train with you, that's all."

Every single time that Max responded, it made Tigress grow even more infuriated by the minute and she just couldn't take that much more and asked, "Why? So you'd train with Po?"

"Yes." Max replied, a little nervously.

"How dare you choose the panda over me, you little...!" Tigress started, but then ran over to him and just gave him a huge what-for as he received multiple amounts of kung-fu brutality as she demolished him hard and punched him down.

"Come on! Fight me! I dare you!" Tigress shouted.

Max was a little banged up from the start and he slowly got himself up, but what he received was a major dosage of butt-kicking from her and began clawing, scratching, piling and tumbling him down hard and Max could see the brutal anger in her eyes like she's completely losing it and it made him really afraid and defenseless at the same time.

"That's it! I'm telling Po on you!" Max shouted.

Tigress grabbed him by the tail and dragged him down to the ground and picked him up with a dangerous glare and said, "You tell Po and I will rip your throat out."

"Why are you doing this to me?!" Max asked.

"I don't have to explain it to you. You're gonna train with me and only me! That panda cannot be a possible trainer for you!" Tigress shouted.

"Just let me go!" Max said, struggling to get free.

Tigress didn't feel like talking and just plopped him down to the ground and made a roundhouse kick to his shin and ribs and she continued to thrash him down hard until Max fights her back...which is something he can't do with her around and then she grabs him by the leg and twists it around, causing Max to scream in horrible agony.

"TIGRESS!"

Tigress looks up and sees a shocked, mortified and completely disturbed Po coming in the training hall and sees this happening and he quickly ran over to Max's side and asked, "Are you okay?"

Max looks up and Po with a soft grunt and asked, "What took you so long?"

Then, Po looked at Tigress and it was like a crime had been committed here and asked, "What did you do?"

"Just showing him how to be tougher. Besides, why should you train him when he needs someone like me?!" Tigress shouted.

"That doesn't give you the right to twist his leg!" Po shouted back.

Tigress was still grabbing Max's leg and Max felt the pain searing through him and Po said, "Let him go, Tigress."

"Not until he fights back with me." Tigress added.

Max finally mustered enough strength to release himself from Tigress' grip and walked towards Po's side and he said, "I was waiting for you, but Tigress said that you quit on me."

Now that was something Po could not believe; Tigress actually manipulating Max into thinking that Po gave up on training Max and as he looked at Tigress, the stone-cold look on her face said it all and he looks at the cub and said, "Max...wait for me outside, okay?"

"Okay." Max said, walking out of the Training Hall.

* * *

What will Po and Tigress talk about? You'll have to wait and see!


	8. Showdown Over Max

And an argument over Max ensues. You'd think they'd bicker like a divorced couple over their kid, but in this case...they bicker over who spends time with Max and who's the better trainer.

* * *

Chapter 8: Showdown Over Max

After Max was gone, Po turned to Tigress with huge amount of disappointment in his face and he said, "Why would you train him? What was wrong with how I trained him?"

"He just needs a better trainer." Tigress replied.

Po lets out a big sigh and he had a slight feeling that she's trying to prevent Max from training with him and said, "You know Shifu assigned me to train him all week. Why would you take over?"

"There's no possible way that you're a better warrior than me, Po. You need to know your place and Max needs to know who's the better trainer and warrior." Tigress answered.

Now that deeply surprised him a lot and the fact that she brought it up blindsided him further and asked, "Better trainer? Where'd you hear that from?"

"From Max. When he told you that you're the best warrior in ever. I'm not gonna stand there and watch you take that place I fought for 20 years for and if that little pest even considers it, I'll make him regret what he just said." Tigress said, with a growl.

"Tigress...if you're trying to force Max into thinking who's the better warrior and trainer, I'm not gonna have a part in this." Po added.

"Why not, Po?" asked Tigress.

"It just wouldn't look right. Max is very sensitive about being put in the middle of arguments and fights. If this is what it's all about, I'm not gonna do anything to force him to choose who's better than who." Po replied.

Tigress felt like she was gonna go nowhere with this and the jealousy took over her and said, "I'm not gonna have you take my title from me because that little boy said so! I'll show him who's the better warrior from here and that's that! And believe you me...I will not let you interfere with this and I intend to turn Max against you if I need to! He's training with me and that's that!"

"Shifu said that I'm training him! Now, I don't need to be involved with that scheme of yours. It's just not right...putting a cub in the middle of something neither of us has no control over. It's not your choice and it's not my choice. But we also can't force it on Max. Think of the emotional consequences we'll put him through." Po reasoned.

"I don't care for emotional consequences, Po. As far as I'm concerned...I'm twice as better as you are and I will be DAMNED if you do anything to take that away from me!" Tigress shouted, then left the training hall in a huff.

Po just stood there totally perplexed as to what's happening, but the one thing he'll do...try to shield Max from Tigress' tug of war competition and he knows that it's not really worth all that.

"Why is she putting Max through this?" asked Po.

* * *

Sounds like this argument is far from over. Stay tuned for more!


	9. Cub Worries

And after this semi-explosive argument, Po isn't the only one with concerns about Max.

* * *

Chapter 9: Cub Worries

Po stood there stunned and really upset over what Tigress meant when she said that she's gonna make Max train her instead of him and it seems as though a battle between who looks up to who was just getting started and the last thing he needed was to be involved in all of this because he's well aware of how Max will feel and the impact that it's gonna have on him.

"Is she gone?"

Po turns around and sees Max standing there, looking really worried and also a little banged up over this mishap and you can tell that Po is more worried about Max than Tigress and he replied, "Yeah, she's gone."

Max walks over to him, his head hanging low and he felt like he had been fooled by Tigress and that he accidentally betrayed Po's trust and he said, "I'm so sorry for putting you through all this trouble."

"Max...it's not your fault. You're only a little boy." Po said, gently putting his paw on his shoulder.

"I should've said no. I wanted to wait for you, but Tigress didn't want to hear it." Max replied.

"Don't worry about Tigress. She won't bother you at all. Besides...I'm still your trainer for the week, remember?" asked Po.

Then, Max rose his head and looked at Po in the eyes with that smile on the panda's face and Max smiled back in return and he knew that everything was gonna be okay and that he can still confide in him and Po said, "So...you still wanna do some training?"

"I really do." Max replied.

But after that whole fiasco with Tigress' brutal training with the cub as an act of jealousy, Po figured that it might be best for the cub to have a little breather before going back to training with Po and he said, "On second thought...how about a lunch break, buddy? Tigress has worked you too hard."

"Okay." Max said, nodding his head.

With that, Max climbed onboard Po's back and sat on his shoulder and Po walked out of the training hall while carrying Max out of there and made their way to the kitchen. By the time they got there, they see Samurai, Arizona and Viper sitting there and they greeted each other and by an instant, Viper noticed a few marks on Max and she asked, "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Max looks at Viper as soon as Po sets him down and replied, "Yes, Miss Viper."

Viper wasn't expecting to be called 'Miss' by Max before and she thought that it was cute and really polite...yet her main concern is how he got those marks on him and said, "Did you hurt yourself?"

Arizona took a little closer look on those marks he got and that really worried him and asked, "Did someone do this?"

Samurai also stood up and analyzed how he got the cuts from and he turned to Po and asked, "I hope you didn't train him too hard."

"Actually...I wasn't there." Po replied.

Viper, Samurai and Arizona turned to Po after hearing that response and couldn't believe that he wasn't there and Samurai asked, "But who was?"

"Tigress did this to me." Max answered.

Then, shock came into forefront when they found out it was Tigress that actually did this and Viper said, "Why would Tigress do that...again?"

"She didn't like Po training me and she said something that she's twice as better warrior and a trainer than Po is and that she's gonna make me eat my words." Max answered.

Samurai's instincts proved right when there was something that Tigress told him and now it seems clear that Tigress wants to get back at him for something and placed Po in the middle of it and the fact that Tigress is trying to pit Po against Max disgusted him to a maximum. He then told him, "Is she trying to end your friendship?"

"Tigress wanted to train him instead of me. And she said that she wants Max to turn against me over something like that and that she was gonna fight me for it. I don't want any involvement in this because of how much it will mess him up. I wouldn't do anything to hurt Max." Po said.

"Of course you wouldn't. Max is not something you'd play tug of war with when it comes to who's spending time with who." Arizona added.

"And Arizona doesn't take that very lightly." Samurai pointed out.

Arizona nods his head at that and he said, "I think I'll be securing Max from Tigress."

"Maybe I'll talk to her about this. I can tell that Tigress has been very resentful towards the little one." Viper said, before slithering out of the room.

With that, Max sits down on the chair as Po started cooking some lunch and took some time to think about what's gonna happen next while Samurai and Arizona worry about the concern and well-being of the cub and how Tigress is trying to compete for Max's attention and why she would treat him the way she treats him.

* * *

That worry will completely increase later in the story...so stick around!


	10. Playtime with Po

To ease the tension between Max and Tigress, Po takes some time to hang out with Max.

* * *

Chapter 10: Playtime with Po

After some lunch, Po thought he'd spend parts of the afternoon with Max and they sat on the Peach Tree together to look at some clouds together and as they were watching them pass by, Po grabbed two peaches from the tree and he asked, "Want some?"

"Yes, I love peaches." Max replied.

Po gives Max a peach and he can tell that Max loves peaches with a passion when he ate it and Po couldn't quite blame him for that as he ate up the peach as well and he said, "Looks like I'm not the only one that loves peaches."

"Yeah. Most of my brothers think that it's a disease to eat fruit." Max stated.

"It's not a disease. It's really good. You're talking to a guy who used to think fruits and veggies are disgusting when he was a cub." Po responded.

"You used to not eat veggies?" asked Max.

"I hated vegetables growing up. But I guess as time went on as I worked with my dad, I kinda got used to them. Just chopping a few veggies and stuff like that." Po answered.

After eating the peaches, both of them sat down on the tree and felt the breeze underneath the shade and Max asked, "So...what do we do now?"

"We can do anything." Po replied.

Max then began thinking of a few games to play with Po and he thought of one already and asked, "How are you at hide and seek?"

Seconds later...

Max hid under the steps on the Training Hall, hoping that Po won't find him there and he kept himself quiet as Po was searching for him. He lowered himself down as he saw Po's feet walking past him and by the minute he's gone, he lets out a quiet giggle...unbeknownst to the cub that it was a giveaway.

"Wonder where could Max be?" Po said, playfully.

And then, Po got down on the ground and spotted Max's tail and grabbed it and said, "Gotcha!"

Max was surprised that Po caught him and he crawled out of there and said, "Bet you can't catch me!"

"Oh, yeah I can!" Po exclaimed.

Max ran off while Po chased after him around the courtyard and as they were running, Max was gaining enough speed to go faster and Po kept on running until he didn't see Max...yet he wondered he might be on the other side of the courtyard and he ran over there just in case.

Meanwhile, Max was using his strategy to confuse Po by going on the other side of the courtyard behind the Training Hall and ran back to the open, but as soon as he got there...

"Ha-ha!"

Po grabbed him as he faced him and they wrestled with each other for a while and they were just laughing and stuff like that and they felt like they were having a lot of fun with each other. Po said, "You're a good runner."

"Thanks. You too." Max said.

Both of them were totally unaware that Tigress saw the whole thing and she was completely not gonna allow Max to train with Po and her jealousy continued to increase even higher and wanted to go head to head with the panda soon.

* * *

Leave it to Tigress to have her jealousy increase to the intense! The confrontation begins!


	11. Head to Head

And now...the dramatic confrontation!

* * *

Chapter 11: Head to Head

Moments after having fun with each other, Max followed Po back to the Training Hall to train with the cub and as they stepped up the stairs, Po looked at Max in the eye and said, "I'm gonna show you another move of Panda Style and I think you'll like it."

"I'm starting to like it already." Max said, rubbing his hands with excitement.

But just as they were about to go in, Tigress hopped down from the roof and faced both of them and from the look on her face, it doesn't seem like she was gonna greet them as her focus was on Max and she was ready to fight with Po and as they turned around, Tigress looked meaner than she usually is.

"You! Train with me now!" Tigress roared.

Po groans and looks at her and said, "Tigress...now is not the time."

"Yes, it is! Max is training with me and you should know it!" Tigress shouted.

Max could tell that this is not gonna bode well for him and he hates it when he's being put in the middle for any argument that might scare him and Po said, "I told you...I want no involvement in your competition."

"Are you afraid that you're gonna lose to me?" Tigress taunted.

"No. I'm afraid of what you'll do with him." Po argued.

"Worry about yourself, panda. Max is coming with me!" Tigress said, grabbing the cub's arms.

Max removed himself from Tigress' grip quickly which shocked and provoked outrage for the Tiger Master and Max said, "I don't wanna train you! I'd rather train with Po."

"So, you'd rather have someone who doesn't work twice as hard as we are instead of me?! You'd rather train him over me?!" Tigress screamed.

"Stop yelling at me!" Max pleaded.

"I AM NOT YELLING!" Tigress yelled.

Po broke it up and got in between the two tigers and said, "Look...this is not worth it! I'm training with Max and that's that. There's nothing you can do to change that."

"I will not be the weak link here!" Tigress argued.

Tigress turned to Max full of fury and said, "Now come on!"

Po could tell that she's really capable of trying to force Max into training with her instead of Po, but he knows Max isn't gonna stand for it and he said, "Don't do this, Ti."

"YOU SHUT UP!" Tigress roared.

Max crept over to Po's side and stood there, which didn't suit Tigress well and said, "I'm not going to train with you. I choose Po."

And that was the final straw and all of those words Max said to Po days before literally fired her up and she punched Po and Max out harder and she said, "You've just made a brutal mistake."

* * *

So far...there's plenty more to come! So stay tuned!


	12. Battleground Gone Too Far

And the confrontation grows bigger until it goes way too far. And the argument goes beyond Max's worst fears.

* * *

Chapter 12: Battleground Gone Too Far

Po was completely dumbfounded by why Tigress punched not only him, but Max as well. Getting punched in the face or anywhere else by her is one thing, but to put Max in the line of fire did not sit well with the Dragon Warrior at all as he got himself up and looked at Tigress in the eye and said, "Really? Was that even necessary?"

"If it means saving my title as best warrior ever...then yes." Tigress stated, in a growl.

Po's main concern was Max and he felt as if Tigress maliciously attacked the cub on purpose for selfish, personal gain and said, "You could've hurt Max!"

"So what?!" Tigress snapped.

"Look, Tigress...whatever's between you two is your business! But for you to take it this way...this has gone far enough. You need to apologize to him right now!" Po exclaimed.

"I will NEVER apologize to him! Not after what he just said!" Tigress spat out.

Now Po went from getting concerned to confused over what had happened and asked, "What could be possibly say to get you all in a tick?"

"Don't act like you don't know! You know and he knows what he has just said!" Tigress shouted.

Max suddenly realized the exact reason why she was being so hard; because he called Po 'the best warrior in like ever' and he felt totally guilty for saying it in front of Tigress and they're fighting over this and it is the last thing Max will witness in seeing it. Po then said, "Listen...if you're still angry about Max saying that he called me the best warrior, it's not in any way of taking your title away. You have the most experience as well as I do."

"And you should realize that! But since Max said it in front of me...I'm gonna make sure that his words will be minced." Tigress growled.

"Listen...I'm not gonna stand here and make Max choose between who's the best warrior." Po said, in a stern tone.

"Max has no other choice!" Tigress snarled.

"You can't choose for him!" Po shouted back.

"SHUT UP, PANDA! I've had quite enough of talking! Max needs me as a trainer and you should know better than to interfere!" Tigress spat out.

"Shifu assigned me to train Max! I'm no better trainer than you!" Po argued.

"LIAR!" Tigress roared, then shoved him down on the ground.

As Po fell down on the ground, he knows that the last thing he'd do is fight back in front of Max and he said, "I'm not gonna fight you, Tigress. Not in front of the cub."

Tigress didn't feel like talking and she growled, "I'm done taking orders from you, Po."

She then turns to Max with a very rage/hate filled look in her eyes and that was the one side Max feared the most and she said, "Choose me or Po."

Max was too scared to say anything at all because had he chosen Po, everything will turn into a huge fight and he'd have the worst of it; kinda like re-opening the scars from when he had the unfortunate witness of seeing his birth parents fight and being placed in the middle of it.

"WELL?!" Tigress roared.

"Stop yelling at him, Ti!" Po shouted.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Tigress roared louder.

Max didn't know what to do, but his heart knows the right answer from there and he wants to say 'Po', but he fears of getting messed up by her and Tigress' patience started to grow shorter by the minute as she waited for his response and Max did not like being forced to choose who over who and he nervously said, "My answer...is still Po."

Once Tigress received his answer, she got fed up that he still picked Po and with that, she unsheathes her claws and she said, "You will regret this."

Max backed away and tried to run, but Tigress pounced on him and beat him up and placed her claws on his head and Max was screaming hysterically for help and Po quickly rushed in to help him and he said, "Let him go!"

Po grabbed Max's other arm to release him from Tigress' grip, but Tigress refused to let him go and a tug-of-war between cub ensues as he gets grabbed by one side and forcibly grabbed on the other side and it's like neither of them can let him go.

"Let go!" Po shouted.

"Never! I will not lose him to you!" Tigress argued with blinding anger.

"Let me go, please!" Max said, screaming.

"SHUT UP, CUB! I knew you would take the very thing I have worked for all these years and to turn everyone I've ever fought with against me! It's all your fault!" Tigress screamed.

When they grabbed him by different hands, Max felt incredible pain coursing through him and started screaming louder in pain and within a matter of seconds, they slipped from their grip and Max fell down on the ground and the cub was getting messed up. Unfortunately, Po and Tigress continued to bicker over him and it transforms into a shouting match and it turned physical as Tigress attacked him headfirst and then Po fought back, despite the fact that Max is still here.

Max endured a painful 5 minutes of watching these two kill themselves over who gets to be Max's trainer and it was all he could actually take and on the top of his lungs, he screamed, "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!"

The blood-curling echoing scream was enough to stop Po and Tigress fighting each other...and apparently the other masters as well as they arrived quickly and Max was getting upset, fearful...and really hurt over this and he panted heavily as he looked at them with his knees on the ground and said, "Why are you guys fighting over me?! Why am I in the middle of this whole thing?! I'm fed up with being in this tug of war and I'm SICK OF IT! Why are you making me suffer again? I have done nothing to deserve this!"

Po saw Max in tears and it was there that he realized that the fight had taken a huge toll on the cub and knew that he shouldn't have been involved and Max said, "Just leave me alone!"

He runs off crying, leaving all the masters perplexed, confused and also...dumbfounded that these two masters are fighting each other over Max's affection and that clearly disgusted Shifu, Arizona and Samurai as they glared at them.

"I knew there was something going on." Samurai stated.

Shifu turned to Samurai and though he looked visibly outraged, he masked it from Samurai and said, "Go find Max."

"Yes, master." Samurai replied, as he left the courtyard but not before giving a very disgusted scowl at Po and Tigress.

That scowl completely affected both masters and they walked closer to the grandmaster and Shifu looked at both of them and said, "Can someone explain to me why you two were fighting over this poor cub?"

* * *

Too dramatic, wasn't it? Don't worry...Shifu will give it to them soon!


	13. A Cub's Sorrow

Before Shifu can give it to Tigress or Po...we check and see how Max is doing.

* * *

Chapter 13: A Cub's Sorrow

At the Peach Tree

Max was sitting in the base of the Peach Tree, just crying with his head buried on his legs and formed in a curled position so no one could see him cry and he just felt really hurt and upset over the fact that Po and Tigress were fighting over him and it was re-opening the scars all over again from his early childhood and to how to relived all over with two kung-fu masters made those scars deepen.

He was unaware that Samurai was standing there behind him yet his ears perked up Samurai's footsteps and he figured that he was coming up and when Max looked up with mounds of tears coming out of his eyes, Samurai couldn't help but feel so sad for the cub and Max said, "Who told you to find me?"

"Shifu said so." Samurai replied, in a gentle voice.

Samurai got down on the cub's level and rubbed his head and said, "I'm so sorry, Maxie."

Max sniffled a few times and wiped his tears and then asked, "Why are you sorry, Sam?"

"I knew that there was something going on between you and Tigress, but I didn't know this would turn out like that. And to have Po be involved in this is just heartbreaking. I wished I would've done something about it." Samurai said, sounding completely guilty.

Max scooted over a little and allowed Samurai to sit next to him and Max said, "It's not your fault. It's mine. If I hadn't have said that Po's the best warrior ever, this wouldn't have happened and Tigress wouldn't have gotten madder at me."

"Max...it's not your fault. Nothing like this is ever your fault. You're only a boy, Max. No one should ever place you responsible for something like this." Samurai added.

Max sniffled a little and he said, "I still don't understand why I was being tugged by them."

"I know it hurts to watch two of your favorite kung-fu warriors argue over something like that. Sometimes I wish I knew why it happened like that." Samurai said.

Max lets out a sad sigh as he lowered his head down and Samurai couldn't bear to see Max so sad and he placed his paw on the cub's shoulder and pulled him into a bear hug and Max cried on Samurai's shoulder and hugged him back deeply. Samurai blinked his eyes a few times while he hugged Max and closed his eyes tightly as he hugged him deeply, ensuring him that he'll always stand by Max's side.

"It's gonna be okay, Max." Samurai whispered.

The two of them broke off the hug and just looked at each other in the eye as Samurai wiped Max's tears from his face and lets out a smile to let him know he's there and in a way...it made Max smile back too.

"There's that smile." Samurai said.

"I love you, Sammy." Max said, nuzzling him.

Samurai chuckled softly as he rubbed Max's head and replied, "I love you too, little brother."

With that, Max climbed aboard Samurai's back to head back to the courtyard to see what's happening after Max left Tigress and Po in the training hall and Samurai said, "I hope Shifu won't get too hotheaded over this."

* * *

Don't be too sure, Samurai. Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	14. Huge Outrage and Explanation

And here's where it gets dramatic and we see Tigress' reason for being so mean and spiteful towards Max.

* * *

Chapter 14: Huge Outrage and Explanation

"MASTER TIGRESS, HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR DAMN MIND?! YOU COULD'VE CAUSED HARM TO THAT CUB!" Shifu shouted at the top of his lungs.

Po has never seen Shifu this upset before like he has multiple times over mistakes and little stuff than usual, but never has he ever seen him hotheaded 20 times more so than Tigress and the look on the red panda's face says it. But for Tigress...it was all too familiar to her because she had to endure it her whole life and this time was no different...except for the fact that the subject was about Max. Most of the Five have experienced Shifu at his angriest before, but never in this position where he was totally enraged to the maximum.

"In my defense, I wanted no part in that. All I did was try to stop her from doing something that can cause harm to Max." Po stated.

"I know that, Po. I know you were not the cause of all of this because it's all Tigress' responsibility!" Shifu seethed.

Tigress knew that look all too well and she hung her head down in shame as Shifu continued yelling at her for participating in stuff like that towards Max and she rose up her head and said, "It's just that you chose Po to train with Max instead of me. I just don't know what came over me."

"But still...even if you wanted to train him, that doesn't excuse you from participating in something ridiculous and juvenile!" Shifu exclaimed.

Arizona couldn't blame Shifu for being so ticked off at the extent they saw Max getting pulled by Tigress and Po and there was absolutely no excuse for it and he wanted answers as well and he looked at both of them and said, "You guys know how sensitive Max is when he sees two people arguing and fighting each other if he has something to do with it. You've completely forgotten about that rule, did you?"

Po looked up at Arizona in the eye and said, "I didn't forget about that rule."

"Then, why didn't you just walk away from this?" asked Arizona.

"Believe me, Zona. I tried. And I said to her I would never get involved in something like this at all. Besides, he's just a boy." Po answered.

Tigress felt like she was completely responsible for this and she knows that she's in much trouble as Po is and she said, "Master Shifu, it wasn't all Po's fault. All he did was try to stop me from doing something I may regret later on. I was responsible for starting all of this because I was blinded by jealousy and anger...and hatred."

That didn't come as a surprise for Shifu because he knew of the tiger's fury, but also surprised at the fact that she showed hatred for the little cub and was shocked to find out that Tigress was holding an enormous amount of bitter hate for Max than any other bandit or villain she's ever come across and Viper asked, "Hatred?"

And that stunned Po the most and didn't realize that Tigress held a lot of hatred for Max and he turned to her and asked, "You...hated Max all this time?"

"Yes. Ever since Max came around, everyone here in the palace was paying lots of attention towards him and I just felt like I was being shut out again. I've been through that at the orphanage before and I don't want to ever have that feeling of being abandoned and forgotten ever again. So I held a hatred towards the cub and I wanted him to feel the same pain that I felt." Tigress answered.

And that puzzled Po to an extent that there was a deeper reasoning for Tigress' jealousy towards Max and said, "So...let me get this straight. You wanted to gain revenge on Max and wanted to do the same thing the orphans did to you when you were a kid and make Max suffer for it...just so you wanted to feel more wanted?"

"Yes, Po. The fact that he's the 'golden child' here really drove me insane and I've hated him so much for the last two and a half years that he has something I craved more than anything. He had it so easy and it made it harder for me and that was the only way I know how to get attention; just be this horrible person and maybe even a monster." Tigress admitted.

Arizona felt completely disturbed to hear this from Tigress, but also concerned for how it came to light and he said, "So you did all of this...so you wouldn't be ignored?"

"Yes, Arizona. I just don't wanna lose them to that...cub." Tigress replied, growling at the last comment.

"There's one question for all of this. Don't take it the wrong way...but why the freaking hell would you make Max suffer again?! He hasn't done anything to harm you, disrespect you, hurt you or even made you feel worthless. Instead of berating him, you should learn from him." Arizona exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's not really worth all of that." Crane agreed.

Tigress sighed deeply and said, "This is what I was afraid of. You'll turn against me in favor of Max and I just let my blinded pride take over me to make sure that could never happen."

Shifu blinked his eyes for a moment after hearing everything Tigress has said and for the most part, he felt completely responsible for making Tigress feel that way because he had traded in that cold and distant attitude and instilled it on her because of Tai Lung and wished he could've done something to prevent her from making the same mistake. Fortunately for Shifu, she didn't end up like him...but still he made new mistakes by letting her be this heartless person with a warrior pride and ego the size of Po's butt.

But he didn't want to admit that in front of his students because he fears that he'll lose all of the Five's respect and he said to Tigress, "No one can ever replace you. You should know that."

"I know...but sometimes I fear that I might lose everyone I care about." Tigress answered.

"You could never lose us, Tigress." Viper stated.

"Yeah, even if you are a pain in the butt sometimes." Mantis commented.

Viper swiped her tail towards Mantis' head and hissed, "Watch it, Mantis."

"No, it's true." Tigress stated, in a shameful voice.

Po totally disagrees with that particular statement and said, "You're not a pain in the butt, Tigress. Not usually...but it's not true. If anything, you always keep us in line."

"But I let my pride take over me, Po. And I caused it...and it nearly hurt the cub. How can you not see that? And I blamed you for stealing him away from me." Tigress stated.

"Look...it was an unfortunate thing for putting Max in it. We're both responsible for it and the last thing we want to do is just place blame on one person." Po stated.

Though Po did have a point, it still wasn't enough for Tigress to be forgiven and she said, "I don't deserve Max's forgiveness."

"I wouldn't say that." Monkey said, in disagreement.

"Yeah, we know Max is not the kind of person that can hold grudges longer. He's very quick to forgive and it would be wrong of him not to." Arizona added.

Shifu nodded at this and he looked at Po and Tigress and said, "We'll discuss punishment for Tigress later. What will be the first thing you two can do?"

"Just apologize to each other." Po replied.

"That's a good start...but I think you owe Max an apology, Tigress." Shifu stated.

That was the biggest step both of them could ever take and it made Tigress a little guilty to know that she's gonna face him again and she just wished that Max can yell at her or get treated horribly like she was used to because she's not worthy of any forgiveness from him.

"Yes, master." Po replied.

Before long, Samurai and Max walked back inside the courtyard and saw all of the masters standing there and Shifu said to Max, "How are you, Max?"

"I'm fine, Shifu." Max replied.

Shifu nodded at that and he turned to both Po and Tigress and said, "Master Tigress have something she wants to say to you."

* * *

The big apology is coming up soon!


	15. All is Really Forgiven

We now see the apologies come into play.

* * *

Chapter 15: All is Really Forgiven

Max seemed really nervous to face both Po and Tigress after everything that had happened earlier today, but he knew for a fact that he'll never hold any grudge against anyone over everything and he's always willing to bury those hatchets, even though some might not bury them because of deep guilt and regret. By the time he faced both of them, Tigress looked away in shame and didn't want to face the cub and Max could tell that she was well aware of how she behaved towards him and Po and felt really shameful about it.

"Shifu said you wanted to tell me something." Max said, softly.

Po lets out a deep sigh and just knelt down to his level and when Po looked him in the eye, he realized that he saw that the cub's eyes were red and he could tell that he was crying and it made Po feel so bad to see him that way and he said, "Yeah. Listen...we were really stupid and foolish to fight over you. We didn't mean to hurt you or anything like that. I just didn't want you to get hurt and be forced to fight over who spends more time with you."

"You knew that I was sensitive over stuff like that." Max stated.

Po nodded his head at that and he said, "I know you were. I never wanted any part of that and I tried to calm the situation down. Instead...I made it even worse...like I always do. That was stupid on my part and I'm really sorry."

Tigress was surprised to see Po actually taking responsibility over something he never wanted to be involved in and she just wouldn't allow him to take the fall for it and she said, "Po had nothing to do with it, Max."

Then, Max looks at Tigress for a second and came a little close to her and Tigress got down to his level and before she was given a chance to speak, Max started off by saying, "I know what you were gonna say. I had no right to choose you over Po and that I should've chosen you instead. And that it's all my fault."

"No, Max...it's not your fault. It's mine. I let my own jealousy get the best of me and my pride and my blinded anger took over me when you wanted Po as your trainer. It's just that...when you said that Po's the best warrior ever, I stupidly took it as a threat because I thought if that was true, people would love him more than me...or any of the Five. I handled it wrong and I almost caused your life to be ruined because of my foolish pride. That was wrong...and for that, I am really sorry." Tigress answered.

Max looked at her in the eyes for a few seconds and he knew that it was very sincere and genuine and with a smile, he replied, "Hey, don't worry about it. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. My behavior was inexcusable and it's just disrespectful as a master to behave that way...especially towards a small child such as yourself. How can you possibly forgive me after all I've done to you...especially these past 2 years?" Tigress asked.

"Because I can." Max replied.

Most of the Five were a little hopeful that it'll all be forgotten and that Tigress can forgive herself and move on, but knowing Tigress...she just didn't really want forgiveness. She just wanted to be criticized, yelled at and even scolded by Max and get it over with. Tigress sighed heavily and said, "You can't."

"Yes, I can. And why'd you say these past 2 years?" asked Max.

Tigress knew that it was gonna be painful to answer that question and Po reached out to her and replied, "It's okay."

Tigress then turned to Max and she revealed something that she'd been harboring over for a short time since Max came into their lives and she said, "I've been full of jealousy, resentment and held a bitter hatred towards you ever since you came to the Valley of Peace and when you visited the Jade Palace."

That definitely shocked Samurai as soon as he heard that coming out of her and he had no idea that she held a bitter hate towards the cub all those years and never knew about it until now. Max was not surprised by the bitter jealousy and resentment...but he was shocked when he heard that she held a bitter amount of hatred towards him all those years. However, all he could do was just ask one question.

"Why?"

"Because you have everything you wanted; good family, great friends, you're quick and easy to learn, you always love everyone and everyone loves being around you and you always seem to get the attention. And even in your darkest moments of your childhood, you never let it affect you...nor have you hardened your heart. Ever since you've been here...you were like the golden child around everyone here and you had all the attention around here; the same thing I wanted more than anything. Believe it or not...we're much more alike...but we're in different opposites. Each time I see you, I always wonder how is he always so happy and loving and forgiving all the time? That's why I've always hated you these 2 years is that you have it all and I don't." Tigress replied.

Once Tigress explained it, most of the warriors were completely saddened to hear that and Max said, "I didn't know I was the cause of that."

"No...you were never the cause of anything. If I was anything like you...I wouldn't be this cold, hardcore, horrible monster who treats everyone like they're nothing." Tigress replied.

Tigress closed her eyes and just figured that she'd gonna get what's coming to her and stood up and said, "Go ahead, Max...I deserve it."

Max could tell that she's punishing herself to get yelled at and criticized by Max and the cub could tell that he feels a huge amount of sympathy towards her and he got closer to her and just hugged her waist. Tigress opened her eyes and saw that Max was hugging her tightly and she didn't expect that to happen and she asked, "Why are you hugging me?"

"Because you needed one...very bad." Max answered.

Tigress felt like she didn't deserve it, but the feeling of the hug overpowered her and it caused her to hug him back despite the fact that everyone's watching and she whispered, "Thank you."

"Always." Max replied.

Po thought it was best to get some hugs from Max and he leaned to the side and hugged him as well and all three of them were just hugging each other and as they let go, Max smiled at them and said, "Everything's all good."

Samurai chuckled softly and said, "Told you he's an easy forgiver."

"How do you always forgive so easily?" asked Shifu.

"You just do. What good would it do to spend your life being angry, sad and hurt all the time?" Max answered.

Once Shifu got his answer, it did made him think for a few seconds and that cub's wisdom totally overpowered everyone and that they should do the same as well. Shifu nods his head and he said to his students, "Let that be a lesson to everyone around here...forgiveness can be difficult, but we have to accept it and move on in order for all of us to move forward. I think we can all learn from this young cub because he's very wise and very well-teachable despite his age."

They agreed with that same message and they have definitely learned something from Max and it's one they'll always hope to remember. Tigress looked at Max and said, "If you still want to train with Po, it's fine with me."

And that was definitely fine with Max all the way that he's still gonna train with Po and he said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Tigress answered.

"Very well then." Shifu replied.

Po nodded his head and he turned to Shifu and asked, "So...are we off punishment?"

Shifu chuckled softly and replied, "Don't push your luck, panda. You're haven't been punished over this at all. Tigress, however...that's a different story."

* * *

I wished I could've given a scene where Shifu gives Tigress a punishment, but I'm always very time limited. Anyways, stick around for more!


	16. Aftermath

And here's where both Tigress and Po begin reconciling.

* * *

Chapter 16: Aftermath

An hour went by as Po and Tigress were standing at the courtyard in separate ends and Tigress still felt like she's the blame for all of this and she could never forgive herself ever again and Po looked at her and said, "You okay?"

"Po...I'm really sorry for this whole thing. I just..." Tigress started, but got cut off by Po.

"Tigress, it's okay. Besides, it shouldn't have happened in the first place." Po replied.

Tigress lets out a big sigh and she said to him, "I want to tell you the reason why I had been so hard on you and Max. It made me crazy thinking that Max said that you're the best warrior ever. I always felt like I was the best warrior ever for so long and when Max said it...my mind wasn't thinking clearly."

Po blinked his eyes a few times and he said, "I can't blame you for being mad at me. After all, I accidentally stole your title as the Dragon Warrior when I first came here."

"Po...that's all in the past now. You were rightfully chosen as the Dragon Warrior. I should be happy that you should train with Max." Tigress stated.

"Yeah. But what Max said...I was just flattered by it. I mean...I know I'm not the best warrior around because nothing compares to you and the Five." Po explained.

"Well...I can't argue with that. But still...if anyone deserves it, it's you." Tigress stated.

Po could tell that she sincerely meant every word she said and he was more than happy to hear her say that and said, "Thanks, Tigress."

Just then, Samurai comes over with Max and he could tell that everything's all good here and he clears his throat for attention and the masters turned and saw them there. Samurai said, "Listen...I gotta take Max home today. So...is it cool if we come by tomorrow so you can train him, Po?"

"Sure." Po replied.

"Cool. See you tomorrow." Samurai replied.

Max waved 'bye' to both of them and both Tigress and Po waved back as well and for Tigress...it really made her feel better that Max forgave her so easily, even if she never wanted it in the first place and she hopes that they'll never go back to being enemies again.

* * *

It's a big pattern between Tigress and Max because though they have a few things in common, they both need to end this rivalry between the two of them; Max gets all the attention, Tigress gets jealous and holds huge hatred against him, they fight and Tigress takes it too far (most times), then Tigress apologizes, Max accepts her forgiveness and so forth. Stay tuned for more!


	17. Calm Evening

We now focus on the Bushido-Akio family life again.

* * *

Chapter 17: Calm Evening

As nightfalls, Samurai and Max made their way back to the house and since they got in, they noticed that there were lots of diapers and baby clothes all over the floor and eight baby pandas asleep and they noticed Sage, Yow-Ni, Banzai, K.C. and Panko completely exhausted by all of this and Samurai said, "What's going on here?"

"It looks like diaper-geddon threw up in here." Max stated.

Yow-Ni grunts as he sat up with his shirt covered in baby panda pee and replied, "Dad put us on baby watching duty. I've never been so disgusted in my life."

"We got drooled, spat up, puked and peed by eight panda cubs. How do you even get used to stuff like that?" asked Panko.

"And the crying...the crying...these little ones won't shut up." K.C. said, covering his ears in sheer horror.

"Who told us that watching eight babies would be this hard?!" Banzai said, with a snarl.

Max shushed them in alert and he knows that the cubs were asleep and said in a half-whisper, "You'll wake them. Loud noises would resort in waking up and they'll start crying all over again."

"Good to know." Yow-Ni replied, in a sarcastic tone.

Sage looked like he was reaching his limit towards the new cubs and said, "If I ever hear one sound of them crying...I'm going to kill myself so bad. It's not worth all of this (bleep)ing torture."

"Watch your mouth, Sage. The babies can hear you." Samurai shushed.

"Like I care."

"Look, we're sorry that you got stuck in baby duty, but you have to learn that handling eight cubs is a lot of work. Even babies. It's not really easy to look after them, but it helps taking the burdens off of mom and dad's shoulders." Samurai reasoned.

"It ain't worth all the aggravation. I've been peed on by this little one here." Sage growled, pointing at Saburo.

"Saburo? He's harmless." Samurai stated.

Sage lowered his eyebrows and said, "Yeah, to you...but he's a peeing machine."

Max lets out a deep sigh and he went upstairs to get himself ready for bed while Samurai stays behind and checks in all the babies and from the looks of it, they were sound asleep and he said, "You know...it sounded like you guys did good. At least they're all asleep."

"Yeah, right. That's good enough for me." Sage whispered.

Samurai brought in the first four boys back to their rooms and brought in the last four girls to their rooms and he quietly closed the door to let them fall asleep and when he came back, he sees that most of them are heading upstairs and he asked, "Where are you guys going?"

"Uh...to get some sleep. After dealing with these brats all day, we need rest." Yow-Ni replied.

"Aren't you forgetting the mess left over here? We need to clean it up." Samurai added.

"No, you need to clean it up. We want nothing to do with this." Sage scowled.

Samurai gave them a scowl back and told them, "Then I'll tell dad that it was you and Yow-Ni that stole his best vest for your street fight on that underground fight club...and end up with a little blood stain on the shoulder area."

That stopped them dead in their tracks and they were surprised that Samurai knew all along and it was enough for them to grumble and stomp back downstairs to the living room to clean up and Sage looked at Samurai in the eye and growling out these three words.

"I hate you."

"Start cleaning." Samurai said, with a smirk.

* * *

Had to bring in a funny moment for this chapter because most of the others were too serious. Stick around for more!


	18. A New Day

And Max starts the day on a fresh start!

* * *

Chapter 18: A New Day

By the next morning, Max was the only one already awake and after everything that happened yesterday, he was willing to take it all in stride and just move on from the stuff that had occurred a few days ago and is looking forward to train with Po again and he went to the kitchen and got himself a breakfast snack; some peaches and bananas.

He heard some footsteps coming and he saw Sage walking by the kitchen and he said, "Morning."

"Whatever." Sage scoffed.

He walked towards the table and ate some fruits and that pretty much annoyed Sage that he could eat fruit and he said, "Shouldn't you eat some sugar or something?"

"That's for later today. I'd rather just start out healthy." Max replied.

Sage sighed heavily as he sat down and the cub noticed that the brute white wolf looked exhausted and super crankier than usual and Sage said, "If dad tells me I'm gonna babysit these drooling babies again, I'm gonna throw up and just bang myself against the wall."

Max didn't know if he was either talking to himself or just talking to him and he asked, "Shouldn't that hurt?"

"Do I look like I'm talking to you? I had to spend the entire day babysitting eight drooling and peeing brats and it's just torture." Sage said, out of frustration.

"You can't hold the babies responsible for that." Max responded.

Sage lets out a deep, frustrated sigh as he covers his face up and said, "Dude...do not talk to me right now. It'll only get me more ticked."

Max was gonna keep his mouth shut and he eats his breakfast and when Sage lays his head down against the table, all the cub heard was Sage moaning and low grunts throughout and from those sounds, he's truly exhausted. Just then, Arizona and Samurai come downstairs with Phoenix and sees Max there and Arizona asked, "You ready to go?"

"Yep." Max replied, as he got up.

Samurai noticed Sage was laying his head against the table and asked, "What's wrong with him?"

"Beats me." Phoenix replied.

Suddenly, Phoenix thought up of an idea to prank Sage and he grabs a baby's bottle, draws a baby's face in the middle of it and puts it in front of Sage's muzzle and he snickered softly by the minute all four of them stepped out of the house.

"Three, two, one..."

They all heard Sage scream and yelping out of control and Phoenix bursted out laughing at this prank and Samurai said, "I wish I could've come up with that."

"It's all in the prank art." Phoenix responded.

* * *

And the last chapter commences!


	19. Working Out Well

And the last chapter is finally here!

* * *

Chapter 19: Working Out Well

As soon as Max was in the Training Hall with Po, the cub was ready to learn everything from the Dragon Warrior and this time around...things are turning good so far as Max looks at Po in the eye. Po stared at Max with his knuckles cracking and he was more than ready to spar with the cub and he said, "You ready?"

"I've been ready, Po." Max replied.

Soon enough, Po started to run towards Max to spar with him, but Max was a lot quicker as he did an aerial backflip and landed on Po's shoulders to distract him and sooner or later, he jumped off of him and grabbed onto the ceiling railing with his claws hanging on the wood. Seconds after, he lifted his entire body off and started swirling around there, getting ready to strike.

"Come on, Max! Quit showing off!" Po exclaimed.

After that, he did another flip and landed directly towards Po's stomach...thus hitting him below the waist and pummeled him down like yesterday's lunch. Po was down, but he got back up and resumed sparring with him and Max was prepared for what's coming up. He got on his basic stance and Po gave him a tiny sucker punch, but not even that fazed Max as he blocked and dodged every move Po gives him.

Seconds later, Po paused everything else and he had to give it to Max because he's like a little firecracker of strength when it comes to his skills and he said, "Nice going, buddy!"

"Thanks, Po." Max said, smiling.

Samurai and Phoenix couldn't help but cheer for Max after witnessing his amazing tricks and moves right in front of them and Samurai said, "Maximus! He rocks our socks off!"

Phoenix looks at Samurai in the eye after hearing that cheer and he seemed a bit weirded out by 'rocking their socks off' and asked, "Really?"

"What? It works like that." Samurai said, in defense.

Before long, Po started to teach Max some panda style moves when it comes to using kung-fu and use it against their opponents and sooner or later, Max became a quick and easy learner after emulating whatever Po taught him and the panda seemed very impressed by how much he's catching on so well and it seems as though Po has an awesome student to train.

As they continued on, Tigress walked in there and she witnessed Po teaching Max some amazing moves and how amazing Max got it so quickly. She's still astonished with how Max barely misses a step and it still impresses her that he never gives up and never says quit when other kids couldn't even do everything he could do and keeps going at it.

She walks over near Phoenix and Samurai and watches with a smile on her face and Samurai said, "Let's hope there's no rivalry between two of you at all."

"That little cub still surprises me. I just hope that he'll grow to be something someday." Tigress stated.

"That's what we all wish for. We always taught him things, but in the end...he teaches us things as well." Samurai answered.

Po and Max continued their teaching and when Max successfully did a backflip and slide down on the ground with zero sloppy moves, all Po did was cheer for Max and the cub looks at him at a smile with confidence.

"You did awesome, Maxie!" Po shouted.

"I have a great teacher to thank." Max said, looking at Po.

Now that really made Po feel good to hear those words come out of Max and he deeply appreciates it and he said, "You're gonna grow up to be somebody, kid."

Max took it all in and he looks up at Samurai, Phoenix and Tigress and they all agree the same thing too and when he looked at Tigress, he only smiled at her and in response, she smiles back at him and he knows that he'll be somebody no matter what.

* * *

And they're friends again! That's all for this fic and I wanna thank you guys for reading, reviewing, favoring and subbing it. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing! Stick around for a new fic...until then, AniUniverse is saying 'peace out homies!'


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